


The Soul of the Game

by Havokagi



Category: Highschool DxD (Anime)
Genre: F/M, Morally Ambiguous Character, Necromancy, Original Character(s), Sporadic Updates, fight god? die trying, no beta we die like fools, they big though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28521576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Havokagi/pseuds/Havokagi
Summary: A nerd who lived for a long, long time gets resurrected in a strange new world. The birth of a new gamer makes a number of changes to his multiverse. What will he do? No one quite knows. But it will include Fleshcrafting, Necromancy, and a lot of experimentation.
Relationships: Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	1. The Beginning of a Legend

"What the… where am I?” I said. Looking around I was in a black void with dark purple mist swirling around me. Looking down my body was thankfully normal even if my clothes were not. I had on a leather trench coat similar to the one Aiden Pearce wore in Watch Dogs. I also had on the Steel Armor set from Skyrim, without the helmets. Fortunately not the Empire ones. Fuck the White Gold Contract or whatever it was called.

**Soul recovered. Stats recovered. Tutorial?**

No. No tutorials. I’ve had enough escapist daydreams to know this system. Stas.

**Name: Akihito Higi**

**LvL: 1 (0.0%)**

**Race: Arcane Human**

**Title: None**

**Secondary Title: None**

**HP (Vit x 10): 340**

**MP (Int x 10): 830**

**Vitality: 34**

**Endurance: 45**

**Strength: 44**

**Dexterity: 38**

**Agility: 23**

**Intelligence: 83**

**Wisdom: 96**

**Charisma: 44**

**Luck: 13**

**Bonus: 0**

**Intelligence has reached 50! MP Increased!**

**Wisdom has reached 50! MP Increased!**

Nice. My Luck is rather Abysmal but it’s fine. Okay. Next.

**Please pick 2 Skills to gain 15 Mastery LvLs in.**

Necromancy and Fleshcrafting. I can train up other skills easier. Plus I’d never be caught in an RPG game solo. I’m gonna play this game like a Pikmin game, only Olimar can shoot lightning and the Pikmin are gigantic flesh monsters that can absolutely destroy my enemies.

**Skills Gained!**

**Necromancy LvL 15**

**Necromancy is the summoning of undead spirits. Be it Ghost and Poltergeists or Death Knights and Bayroks. Who knows you might even summon a few Skeletal Hordes. Can revive LvL% more Undead in a Horde. Reviving Undead costs LvL% less MP. Undead Contracts are LvL% cheaper.**

**Fleshcrafting LvL 15**

**Fleshcrafting is the art of manipulating the very building blocks of life. The Legendary Necromorphs were the greatest Fleshcrafters to ever exist, reaching LvL 100 and creating the Brethren Moons. Costs LvL% less MP. Improvements are LvL% more powerful. Enemies created through Fleshcrafting won’t immediately attack you.**

Nice. What’s next?

**Spin the wheel for bonuses and a random trait. Or don’t.**

I’ll roll. See what I get.

**MP increased. Debuff gained.**

**Necrotic Aura**

**You give off a sense of death and danger. You are pale, your hair pitch black, and your eyes are a toxic purple. Living creatures start with -5 affection. Undead creatures start with +5 affection.**

Again please.

**MP increased. Debuff gained.**

**Amoral**

**Your ‘Moral Compass’ looks suspiciously similar to a roulette wheel. Eating human flesh for minor powerups? Sure. Hurting an animal? No. You have low empathy for sentient creatures and have a harder time gaining Affection with Lawful Good characters.**

Okay. I’d rather not go any further. What’s next?

**Get ready for highschool.**

Jerking upwards in my bed I heard a shout from downstairs. Groaning I put on my school uniform before walking down the stairs, my dad was casting wind magic on the burning eggs.

“Hey dad. What did I tell you about trying to cook?” I said. Harry Higi. A european magician who left to avoid the church. He was tall, standing at 6’3” with short slicked back black hair and pentagram tattoos running up both his arms, each of them a different color. He was given permission to live here in exchange for helping defend the Heiresses in case of an attack.

“I wanted to do something for you. You did learn a new language to live here with me. I just wanted to do something nice before your first day.” Harry said. I sighed. Giving him a quick hug I used Fleshcrafting to remake the burnt eggs into a fluffy scrambled version. Harry laughed.

“Man I can’t get over that. I’ll make cookies for after school.” Harry said. His Sacred Gear, Perfect Recipe, allowed him to make any chemistry recipe perfectly. Baking apparently fell under this umbrella even though he burns water when he tries to make anything else.

Eating and walking out the door I turned the corner and bumped into another teen. He was shorter than me standing at 5’7” if I had to guess. He had short brown hair and was wearing the same uniform as me, only with his tie undone and his hair gel-ed to make it look like he had just rolled out of bed.

“Sorry about that. I take it you go to Kuoh Academy?” I said. He nodded.

“Yeah. My name is Issei. You just start at Kuoh?” Issei asked. I nodded.

“Yeah. My dad, Harry Higi, runs the Pharmacy.” I said. Issei nodded. As we walked to Kuoh Issei talked about something or other. I wasn’t paying much attention. It was the nice kind of conversation where he talked and I listened. It wasn’t hard to keep going but it was… nice and kind of relaxing.

**Affection with Issei +10 (5 / 100)**

Oh nice. As we walked to Kuoh the thought of redoing highschool seemed a little less awful. With higher Int maybe I won’t have such a horrible social life. Or maybe I will.

**_Line Break_ **

**_-POV Sona Sitri-_ **

Watching as the perverted sacred gear user walked up to the school gates with the new Higi magician my eyes narrowed. The Higi magician was relaxed and casual. He nodded along to something Hyoudou said as he looked over at me. His long black hair was tied behind his head in a messy ponytail with a pair of glasses over his purple eyes. He wore black leather work boots with exposed steel toes. He gave off a slight amount of Deathly Energy that made me uneasy.

“Issei. Go to class. I don’t want to hear about you being perverted on the first day.” I said. Issei gulped and ran off. Akihito Higi rubbed the back of his head. 

“Hey. Sorry for not getting here earlier. What does Issei do? I’m Akihito Higi by the way.” Higi said. I sighed.

“He tends to peak in the Girls changing room and general perverted acts. My name is Sona Sitri. I’m the head of the Student Council.” I said. Higi nodded. As I showed him around the school the students began whispering about the new guy. To be fair he is tall and rather handsome. Even if he gave off an Aura that promised danger. 

“This will be your homeroom. Be sure to get to all your classes on time.” I said. He nodded walking in the room. Sighing lightly I walked to the Occult Research Club Room. Rias was lounging on the couch as Koneko slept on the armchair, taking a cat nap.

“So who’s the new guy?” Rias said. I glared at her. She has so much power but the Gremory Luck made her lazy so now that the date, that was set fifty years forward, is arriving she has done nothing to prepare. 

“A Necromancer. He has a Necrotic Aura so he’s at least somewhat powerful. You wouldn’t be in this situation if you trained.” I said. Rias sighed. 

“I want my Peerage to work through their problems at their own pace.” Rias said.

“You and I both know that’s impossible. As it stands you can pick either the pervert with a Sacred Gear or the new Higi Magician with Necromancy. Even then the Necromancer might just say no. Choose.” I said. Rias sighed and glared at me. I am done with her complaining.

“I’ll ask the Necromancer. And I will make sure he doesn’t say no.” Rias said.

**_Line Break_ **

**_-POV Akihito Higi-_ **

Suppressing a shiver I felt crawl down my back as the teacher lectured the class on Math. A glare from one of the perverted trio made me roll my eyes. I had told one off for peaking up one of the girl's skirts. It got me +10 affection with the girls and the entire school but -15 for the trio. Not that I care too much. School passes slowly as I barely remain awake. I was a college professor, none of this is challenging.

“Mr. Higi, would you please solve the equation on the board.” The teacher said. Its like she knew I was complaining about how boring this is. Nodding I walked up to the board, quickly solving the question. She nodded as I walked back to my seat.

I hate this. Necrotic Aura makes people avoid me and the only ones who don’t look at me like I’m some scary monster are less than stable. So far this is even worse than before. At least in my old highschool I could blend in but with Necrotic Aura everyone knows who I am. Issei seems to be the only person who its afraid of me besides the devils and hes a creep. He did walk with me to my house.

“I thought you were cool.” Issei said, as we walked.

“There’s a difference between being weird and being a bastard. Your friend was blatantly staring up someone’s skirt. So yes I told him off cause it’s fucking creepy.” I said.

“It’s not that weird.” Issei tried to defend. The best part of Necrotic Aura is that I look pretty intimidating. Issei didn’t try to disagree with me this time as I glared at him.

“Okay so it’s a little weird. But it’s not that bad.” Issei said. I sighed.

“So you know it’s wrong but you do it anyway? Fucks sake.” I said. Issei tried to stammer out an excuse before just sighing and hanging his head. Ignoring him I walked home quickly. Opening the door I walked inside as my dad sat on the armchair in the living room perpendicular to the couch that had Sirzechs sitting on it and Grayfia standing behind the couch.

“Ah, Akihito Higi. My name is Sirzechs Lucifer. Do you have a moment to talk?” Sirzechs said. 

“Of course. How can I help you?” I asked. Dad glared at them as Grayfia glared back. 

“I wanted to ask if you would be willing to join my sister, Rias’s, Peerage.” Sirzechs said. I hummed. Okay time to flex my 83 Int. Please let this work.

**Rolling for Int… Critical Success!**

“Rias sent you instead of coming herself meaning she really wants me to join her peerage. If I had to fathom a guess I would say it’s because she wants to have a powerful Peerage member. Likely because she has a Rating Game coming up she needs to win. Now the Gremory Clan used to be able to manipulate luck however they no longer can because of whatever reason. Now I know luck makes people rather lax, combined with her devil nature means she likely hasn’t been training. Now she can’t get away with her luck because a family member is working against her who has equal or more luck. How close am I?” I said. My dad smiled and nodded at me as Grayfia glared at me and Sirzechs chuckled.

“Rias is in a Marriage contract with Riser Phenex. Our father wants the contract to go through. I do need an answer.” Sirzechs said. I sighed.

“No. I will help train her, I will give her Undead troops, I will even help her in the Rating Game if you can get them to agree to it but I will not join her Peerage.” I said. Sirzechs grimaced before schooling his face into a neutral expression.

“That is agreeable. I’ll have Rias contact you when you can begin training them.” Sirzechs said. I nodded. Walking up to my room a shining light from my mirror caught my attention. Looking over at it, I walked towards it before the light fully encompassed me.

**Loading Hub please wait…**

Blinking the spots out of my eyes I looked around seeing a rather weird room. It had several different pieces in it including a corkboard, projector, and a computer on a small desk in the corner. Looking at the corkboard it had pictures of people on it with numbers next to them.

**This is your affection and group affection menu. It can be looked at closer and affection items can be used here.**

**Affection**

**Issei (5 / 100)**

**Sona Sitri (-5 / 100)**

**Rias Gremory (0 / 100)**

**Group Affection**

**Kuoh Academy (5 / 100)**

**Girls of Kuoh Academy (5 / 100)**

**Sona’s Peerage (-5 / 100)**

**Rias’s Peerage (0 / 100)**

**Perverted Trio (-20 / 100)**

Huh. Looking at it a few more names appeared on the board and several increased.

**Affection**

**Issei (5 / 100)**

**Sona Sitri (10 / 100)**

**Rias Gremory (25 / 100)**

**Akeno Himejima (15 / 100)**

**Gasper Vladi (15 / 100)**

**Yuuto Kiba (15 / 100)**

**Koneko Toujou (15 / 100)**

**Group Affection**

**Kuoh Academy (5 / 100)**

**Girls of Kuoh Academy (5 / 100)**

**Sona’s Peerage (10 / 100)**

**Rias’s Peerage (20 / 100)**

**Perverted Trio (-20 / 100)**

**For reaching a total of 100 Affection you got a Tiny Heart Crystal**

**For reaching 25 Individual Affection you got a Tiny Heart Crystal**

**Tiny Heart Crystal’s can be used to add +5 Affection to one person.**

Nice. I don’t have any Affection with Grayfia and Sirzechs so I won’t use those on them to get out of negative affection. I don’t like Rias and I don’t want to get the affection with anyone in her Peerage really high since we’ve never met. But I do really like Koneko. I want to see what happens when you get two people to 25 affection so both into Koneko I guess.

**For reaching 25 Individual Affection with 2 people you got a Small Heart Crystal**

**Small Heart Crystals can be used to add +10 Affection to one person.**

Nice. I’ll drop it on Issei. The friendship of the Red Dragon Empress is nothing to scoff at. Walking over to the projector in the next room over I sat down. I had several projector slides. A few had weird names like ‘Battle of Troy’ and ‘Siege of Orleans’ which I set to the side. I can look into those later. Grabbing a slide labeled ‘Zombie Unlimited Waves’ and slid it into the old fashion projector. The same light covered me.

**Side quest: Zombie Wave**

**Objective: Survive 1 Wave**

**Bonus Objective: Survive 5 Waves**

**Bonus Objective: Kill 1 Special Infected**

Cool. Looking around it was a basic run down city. Looking around it reminded me of the abandoned cities from the Crash Landing Minecraft mod. Looking around a few platforms rose from the ground with basic common walker zombies. A few crawlers dragged themselves towards me, their organs spilling out behind them. Shooting a single bone shard out of my palm at one of the closer crawlers it twitched slightly before stopping. Why are the crawlers faster than the walkers?

**Skill created! Bone Shard!**

**Bone Shard LvL 1 / 100**

**A common Fleshcrafter skill. Do not underestimate it though, it can deal serious damage and is incredibly cheap. Shoots out a bone shard that deals (Str + Dex) x LvL damage. Has a LvL% chance to pierce armor. Costs 100 MP and 10 HP.**

Nice. Shooting the Zombies in the head over the body of the first Crawler I kited them through the city, pausing to let them catch up before circling back so they all died in one pile.

**Bone Shard LvL Up x 3!**

**Fleshcrafting LvL Up x1!**

**Character LvL Up x2!**

**Objective Success: Survive 1 Wave!**

**Reward: Gacha Token x 1**

**Wave 2 begins in 10 Minutes!**

**When LvLing Up you get +1 Vit +1 Int and +10 Bonus stat points to spend wherever you choose.**

Walking to the pile of bodies I toss ten into a smaller pile before Fleshcrafting them into a large shape. It was three meters tall with eight meter tentacles on each side of it. It was covered in white bone armor plating with each of its tentacle’s ends being barbed but less flexible. On top of its body was a horned head with a gaping maw with two rows of sharp pointed teeth.

**Beast created! Armored Titan!**

**Fleshcrafting LvL Up x6!**

**Armored Titan**

**The armored titans require 10 bodies and 1,000 Mana to create. They have 20,000 HP and can store up to 40,000 MP. They cannot cast spells and instead use MP for healing. They have a Defense of 250.**

Nice. However the body is still immobile. And I still have eight bodies. Making four piles of two I moulded them together into knights with white bone armor, shaped after the Arma Gigas from RWBY, and sharp single edged swords to cut through the rotten flesh of the zombies. Their two meter height made it quite intimidating.

**Beast created! Armored Knights!**

**Fleshcrafting LvL Up x6!**

**Armor Knight**

**An old classic of any fairy tale. Armor Knights require two bodies and 100 MP to create. They have 500 HP and can store up to 2,000 MP. They cannot cast spells and instead use MP for healing. They have a Defense of 250.**

Nice. Running low on MP so reanimating them is unlikely. Let’s see… may I see the definition for the Necromancy skill please.

**Necromancy LvL 15**

**Necromancy is the summoning of undead spirits. Be it Ghost and Poltergeists or Death Knights and Bayroks. Who knows you might even summon a few Skeletal Hordes. Can revive LvL% more Undead in a Horde. Reviving Undead costs LvL% less MP. Undead Contracts are LvL% cheaper.**

Contracts? Putting the unrevived bodies in my inventory as a foghorn sounded through the city. A few more platforms rose from the ground. These zombies were less rotted than the last ones but remarkably similar. If not for one minor difference.

“Shit.” I cursed as three of the zombies began sprinting at me. Shooting them in the head with Bone Shard they collapsed as a few more began lumbering forward faster. Scrambling up off the ground from my kneeling position I quickly scrambled backwards. Throwing out several weaker Bone Shards to at least partially damage the Zombies as I waited for my MP to recover.

**Skill created! Mass Bone Shard!**

**Mass Bone Shard LvL 1 / 100**

**A more uncommon Fleshcrafter spell. While it doesn’t deal as much damage as its counterpart it can be used to clear large Hordes with ease. Shoots out LvL bone shards that deal (Str + Dex) / 4 damage every second. Has a LvL% chance to pierce through unarmored targets. Costs 10 MP and 1 HP per second.**

The bone shards weren’t nearly as accurate as the other singular bone shards but they hit much more Zombies, slowing them down long enough for me to hide. Hiding behind a wall long enough to catch my breath I watched my HP and MP slowly tick upwards. Sneaking around I grabbed the Zombie bodies left behind by the horde.

**Skill unlocked! Sneak!**

**Sneak LvL 1**

**An incredibly common ability. Almost everyone in the system has this skill. Its powerful despite its commonality. Gives a LvL% chance of going unnoticed. Sneak attacks have a multiplier of (LvL / 4).**

Nice. Sneaking around and into a building I sat cross legged before concentrating.

**Skill recovered from the previous character! Meditation!**

**Meditation LvL 38**

**A common technique used by just about everyone. MP recovery is (Wis + LvL) per second while meditating.**

Continuing to meditate as the Zombies roamed around outside a ping alerted me to my MPs recovery. Now what to do next. Peering out the window I noticed the mob had dissipated for the most part with Zombies roaming in groups of two or three. Sneaking out of the build I had hidden in I snuck up behind one group. Shooting the zombie through the back of the head I grabbed the second zombie and used Fleshcrafting to close its mouth and restrain it with its own bones.

**Skill unlock! Binding Bones!**

**Binding Bones LvL 1 / 100**

**A common Fleshcrafting spell. Many entities use this spell, including the infamous Gaping Dragon, to then eat them. It will completely restrain a target completely. It can restrain enemies for (Int + Wis) x LvL seconds. Costs 100 MP and 25 HP.**

Nice. Dragging the bound zombie into a nearby building I punched it a few times to weaken it before placing my hand on its face. Fleshcrafting said something about improvements right? If I remember correctly Zombies have high Strength, Endurance, and Vitality. Dragging it… into my body, would be the best way to describe it, the zombies body dissolved as a couple of messages appeared.

**You assimilated a Basic Walker! Strength Multiplier +1!**

**New Skill acquired! Assimilate!**

**Assimilate LvL 1 / 100**

**A rather complex Fleshcrafting skill. It absorbs a target using their body to improve the caster’s own. Costs 10,000 MP. Costs less if target is restrained. Costs less if target is weakened. Costs less if targets MP is empty or they have no MP.**

Nice. Stats.

**Name: Akihito Higi**

**LvL: 2 (13.7%)**

**Race: Arcane Human**

**Title: None**

**Secondary Title: None**

**HP (Vit x 10): 350**

**MP (Int x 30): 2,520**

**Vitality: 36**

**Endurance: 45**

**Strength: 88 (44 x 2)**

**Dexterity: 38**

**Agility: 23**

**Intelligence: 85**

**Wisdom: 96**

**Charisma: 44**

**Luck: 13**

**Bonus: 20**

Nice. Alright. Dropping 15 points into Intelligence and 4 into Wisdom a couple of pop ups told me I made the right choice.

**Intelligence has reached 100! MP Increased!**

**Wisdom has reached 100! MP Increased!**

Nice. throwing the other body into my inventory I snuck around, continuing the process with the other groups.

**You assimilated a Basic Walker! Strength Multiplier +1!**

**You assimilated a Basic Walker! Endurance Multiplier +1!**

**You assimilated a Basic Walker! Endurance Multiplier +1!**

**You assimilated a Basic Walker! Vitality Multiplier +1!**

**You assimilated a Basic Walker! Strength Multiplier +1!**

**You assimilated a Basic Walker! Vitality Multiplier +1!**

**Bone Shard LvL Up x 4!**

**Fleshcrafting LvL Up x8!**

**Sneak LvL Up x2!**

**Binding Bones LvL Up x5!**

**Assimilate x2!**

**Character LvL Up x1!**

**Wave 3 begins in 10 Minutes!**

Sweet. Meditating as I waited, a groan from nearby made me look around. A person in full steel plate armor slowly staggered up. It slowly pulled out a sword before charging me. Shooting it in the chest with Bone Shard it staggered backwards slightly, with it not piercing its chest. Shooting it with a hail of Mass Bone Shards it slowly stumbled back as I moved closer as well. Stopping my onslaught I noticed a few bones had managed to pierce the things’ armor. Backing up it groaned as it clumsily slashed at me. Dodging it, the swipe left cracks in the concrete where it struck. Oh I most definitely want to assimilate this thing.

“Okay. Lets try a different strategy,” I muttered. Using Binding Bones it roared as it fell over. Placing my palm on its armor I focused my magic through it before pulling it open like the steel was warm butter. 

**New Skill Gained! Armor Melt!**

**Armor Melt LvL 1 / 100**

**A Ferrokinetic skill that is incredibly useful and as such incredibly common as well. A spell that melts armor into a slag making it easily penetrable. Makes armor block LvL% less damage. Costs 1,000 MP and lasts for Int + Wis seconds.**

Stabbing it in a few small places to give it light damage to weaken it I melted the face armor and placed my hand on my face before Assimilating it.

**You assimilated an Armored Walker! Vitality Multiplier +2, Endurance +2, Strength +2!**

**Mass Bone Shard LvL Up x2!**

**Assimilate x2!**

**Character LvL Up x1!**

**Bonus Objective Success: Kill 1 Special Infected**

**Reward: Gacha Token x1**

**Wave 4 begins in 10 Minutes!**

Okay so far this has been rather easy. Meditating as I waited for the next wave to start I opened my Stats.

**Name: Akihito Higi**

**LvL: 4 (29.4%)**

**Race: Arcane Human**

**Title: None**

**Secondary Title: None**

**HP (Vit x 10): 1,400**

**MP (Int x 50): 5,000**

**Vitality: 140 (38 x 4)**

**Endurance: 180 (45 x 4)**

**Strength: 264 (44 x 6)**

**Dexterity: 38**

**Agility: 23**

**Intelligence: 103**

**Wisdom: 100**

**Charisma: 44**

**Luck: 11**

**Bonus: 20**

I can put 5 points into Endurance and 15 into Vitality then I can get both of them to 50 which might increase my max HP. Fleshcrafting takes a lot of HP and MP so I need HP. After that I need to try and get the rest of my stats to 50.

**Vitality has reached 50! HP Increased!**

**Endurance has reached 50! HP Increased!**

Sweet. A ding signaled the recharge of my MP. Inventory. What do I have?

**Items:**

**Unrevived Armored Titan x1**

**Unrevived Armor Knight x4**

**Dead Basic Zombie x 14**

**Steel Armor (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 31 Defense.**

**Steel Boots (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 12 Defense.**

**Steel Boots (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 12 Defense.**

**Trench Coat (Clothing)**

**Leather trench coat from Watch Dogs. Gives no defense.**

Taking a Zombie from my inventory I used Assimilate. If I’m right its going to limit the amount of boosts you can get from one enemy type. 

**You assimilated a Basic Walker! Vitality Multiplier +1!**

Still didn’t say anything about a cap. Let me hide in one of these buildings before I do the next one. Standing up and walking over to one of the buildings I walked inside before closing the door behind me. Grabbing another body from my inventory I Assimilate it, this time with the desired response.

**You assimilated a Basic Walker! Endurance Multiplier +1!**

**You have hit the maximum multiplier you can receive from Basic Walker, and Basic Crawler. You got a Trait! Detachable!**

**Detachable**

**This action figure comes with detachable limbs and extremities! You won’t die from Vital Strikes, and Critical Hits and Vital Strikes, no longer deal additional damage.**

Sweet. It didn’t say anything about Runners so something tells me I can eat them for Agi or maybe even a Dex boost. Meditating in the building before the next wave appeared I began to plan. If those theories I read online are correct One for All at 100% makes its use 50 times stronger than they would be normally. Though I might be wrong. Of course One for All is sentient so I doubt I can steal it. However 10% of One for All is a decent boost from beginner tier enemies.

**_Most players would never think to Assimilate enemies. Or if they do they ignore weaker enemies for stronger ones. You are well ahead of the curve and it has been majorly helped along by your high starting stats and your traits._ **

A groan from outside cut off my internal ramblings. Looking outside the horde had just appeared. I need a crowd control spell to hit the horde and take out as many of them as I can. Gathering MP in my hand I made it into an arcing lightning bolt. Firing it into the crowd of enemies it bounced between enemies making several of them collapse before fizzling out.

**Bouncing Lightning Bolt LvL 1 / 100**

**Did someone say crowd control? How about you have some anyways? Does exactly what it says on the tin, a Lightning Bolt that bounces between enemies. Deals Int Damage. Hits Wis x LvL targets. Costs 100 MP per bolt.**

Firing more into the crowd until I ran out of MP the enemies all collapsed.

**Bouncing Lightning Bolt LvL Up x5!**

**Assimilate x2!**

**Character LvL Up x1!**

**Wave 5 begins in 10 Minutes!**

Dropping all of the bodies into my inventory I walked back into the building and meditated as I reopened my inventory to see what enemies I killed.

**Unrevived Armored Titan x1**

**Unrevived Armor Knight x4**

**Dead Basic Zombie x 36**

**Dead Basic Crawler x 8**

**Dead Basic Runner x 6**

**Steel Armor (Heavy Armor)te**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 31 Defense.**

**Steel Boots (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 12 Defense.**

**Steel Boots (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 12 Defense.**

**Trench Coat (Clothing)**

**Leather trench coat from Watch Dogs. Gives no defense.**

Dropping 5 of the Runners from my inventory I Assimilated one before continuing to meditate.

**You assimilated a Basic Runner! Agility Multiplier +1!**

A groan from outside made me move and sit in front of the door. I do need more MP. Especially since I hate melee combat. The thing is do I want to get all my stats up to a base of 50 or start dumping into Int for more MP. Strength is already 44 so I’ll get it to 50, see what it gets me. A little Strength never hurt anyone. Especially when my main damage dealer uses it. Assimilating another Runner I hummed.

**You assimilated a Basic Runner! Dexterity Multiplier +1!**

“Okay, plan. Get all stats to 50 and all multipliers to 5 then start dumping points into Int. Then I can basically ignore those stats for a while.” I said. Eating the last of the Runners I looked over the fruits of my labor.

**You assimilated a Basic Runner! Agility Multiplier +1!**

**You assimilated a Basic Runner! Agility Multiplier +1!**

**You assimilated a Basic Runner! Dexterity Multiplier +1!**

**You assimilated a Basic Runner! Agility Multiplier +1!**

Nice. Peeking outside a large crowd of undead was outside. A number of Runners, Crawlers, Walkers and even two Armored Walkers. Launching as many Bouncing Lightning Bolts into the crowd as I could, most of the zombies died in the first assault with only the Armored Walkers still standing and clearly not very damaged. Do they have some sort of magic resistance skill? 

One of the Armored Walkers pointed at me and groaned alerting the other to my presence. Backing up they lumbered towards me I dodged under a swing from the first and hit the second with a sucker punch that made it flinch backwards enough for me to move past it to the pile of dead grabbing a Runner and booking it to escape the armored walkers they slowly lumbered after me. Running until I had recovered enough MP to assimilate it the pop up made me grin.

**Critical Success! You assimilated a Basic Runner! Dexterity Multiplier +2!**

**All Physical Stats have reached a x 5 multiplier. Title Gained! Physical Powerhouse!**

**Physical Powerhouse (Can be evolved)**

**No physical feat is too big for you. Be it ripping entire trees out of the ground, prying open metal containers or guiding a camel through the eye of a needle you have power beyond comprehension. All Physical Stat checks +100%.**

Based on the fact that it says ‘can be evolved’ I think it’ll get more powerful the more multipliers I get for my stats. Now how am I going to deal with the two armored walkers?

“They barely took any damage from those 50 something lightning bolts I threw at them. So I need physical damage. Lets see what those Gacha Token I got have for me.” I said to myself. Pulling it out of my inventory a tutorial appeared.

**There are 7 ranks for what an item can be. These Ranks are Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, Mythic and Godly. These ranks grow exponentially. You are twice as likely to get a Common item than an Uncommon item. You are 4 times more likely to get an Uncommon Item than a Rare item. You are 8 times more likely to get a Rare item than an Epic item and so on and so forth.**

Snapping it a shower of confetti exploded from it before a weight settled in my palm.

**You got a Rare pull! Large Shadowflare Mastery Scroll!**

**Large Shadowflare Mastery Scroll**

**Instantly gain 10 LvLs in Shadowflare and unlock this skill if not already unlocked.**

Yes please. But not the solution to my problems. Let me use it so I don’t forget though.

**Shadowflare LvL 10 / 100**

**Aside from being the name of every edgy 14 year olds OC this spell shoots LvL fireballs that home in on targets. Deals a flat Int damage. Costs (10 x LvL) MP. Has a chance to inflict burn on enemies. Chance increases with Wis.**

Nice. Still not what I asked for though. A decent physical weapon is all I ask. Pulling the second one out of my inventory and snapping it a shower of confetti exploded from it before a weight settled in my palm again.

**You got a Rare pull! Ghost (DOT EXE skin) and 105 pistol bullets!**

**Ghost (DOT EXE skin)**

**“Trust me. I got this.” Famous last words. A silenced semi automatic pistol that deals a fair amount of damage on hit. This weapon deals (Dex x 3.5) damage. This weapon has a 15 round magazine. 15 / 90 ammo.**

Looking down I held a loaded Ghost from the Valorant game with 6 extra magazines. Tossing the Magazines into my inventory I grinned. A long range semi auto silenced pistol? Hell yes. I hate close quarters combat. Plus most swords are a tradeoff between six hour wind ups and dealing ridiculous damage and toothpicks that have no startup or endlag yet deal almost no damage. I much prefer a heavy sniper rifle or minigun to dish out damage while the others get up close and personal.

Sneaking back to where the Armored Walkers were prowling around, I waited until they weren’t looking at me or facing each other before shooting the one further away from me and ducking back into cover. Lets see how this game works. Listening closely I heard growling and metal on metal before the dying screech of an undead ripped through the air. Peaking around the corner one of them was on the floor dead with the other standing over it. Sneaking up behind it I melted its armor and assimilated it before it could turn around.

**You assimilated an Armored Walker! Vitality Multiplier +2, Endurance +2, Strength +2!**

**Sneak LvL Up x4!**

**Bouncing Lightning Bolt LvL Up x6!**

**Bonus Objective Success: You Survived 5 Waves**

**Bonus Rewards: Gacha Token x 2**

**Character LvL Up x2!**

**Would you like to leave? (If you stay you cannot leave until wave 10)**

Yes. Please. The light surrounded me before dropping me back in the office next to the projector. Did I get the bodies? Inventory.

**Gacha Token x 2**

**Unrevived Armored Titan x1**

**Unrevived Armor Knight x4**

**Dead Basic Zombie x 59**

**Dead Basic Crawler x 23**

**Dead Basic Runner x 8**

**Dead Armored Walker x 1**

**Steel Armor (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 31 Defense.**

**Steel Boots (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 12 Defense.**

**Steel Boots (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 12 Defense.**

**Trench Coat (Clothing)**

**Leather trench coat from Watch Dogs. Gives no defense.**

**Ghost (DOT EXE skin)**

**“Trust me. I got this.” Famous last words. A silenced semi automatic pistol that deals a fair amount of damage on hit. This weapon deals (Dex x 3.5) damage. This weapon has a 15 round magazine. 14 / 90 ammo.**

Reloading the Ghost I pulled a Gacha Token out of my inventory. It looks similar to a glowstick. It glowed and pulsed a rainbow glow similar to a more colorful version of the Aurora Borealis.

“They really toss these around like candy on halloween huh?” I said to myself. Dumping any points I had into luck I snapped it and a shower of confetti popped up once again before a weight settled in my hands.

**You got a Common Pull! 500 Creds!**

Nice. I don’t know what I’ll use that for but it’s something. I do have another. I once got three five stars in a row on Fire Emblem Heroes. Gimme something good baby. Snapping the token I rolled my eyes at the confetti. It was fun the first time, but it’s getting kind of old.

**You got a Common Pull! 1,000 Creds!**

That’s probably the best I’m going to get. I’m honestly surprised I got two rare pulls in a row. Looking at the screen again it held a battle report of the fight.

**You beat Zombie Hordes Wave 5 for the first time! You got 10,000 Creds!**

Huh. Sweet. This is probably like those mobile games that give you rewards for beating a certain amount of waves. Standing up I grabbed the dead armored walker out of my inventory before assimilating it.

**You assimilated an Armored Walker! Vitality Multiplier +2, Endurance +2, Strength +2!**

**For reaching a Strength Multiplier of 10 you got 3 Gacha Tokens!**

I take back the Candy on Halloween metaphor. It’s even more common than that. Pulling them out of my inventory I stretched. Let’s see what I get.

**You got an Uncommon Pull! 10,000 Creds!**

**You got a Common Pull! 250 Creds!**

**You got a Legendary Pull! MX Dark Magic Catalyst** **!**

**MX Dark Magic Catalyst**

**The main component of many magic builds this sphere is a powerful catalyst. This version of the Dark Magic Catalyst is so powerful it can recreate Living Weapons as dark Hollows of the originals. This Item cannot be upgraded. Requires LvL 50 Dark Magic Mastery.**

Looking at the DMC it floated in front of me. It appeared similar to the small gears of darkness that Astor has in his artwork. I never did get around to playing Age of Calamity. Putting it in my inventory I shrugged. I’m never going to use it but who knows. Might end up using it for something at one point. Standing up I stretched. I feel so stiff. Like I’ve been sitting in that chair for over a month. Stretching I popped my knuckles and other bones as I walked to the computer. Sitting down and wiggling the mouse a site very similar to Amazon appeared. It was titled Bring out the Creds! And had a number of items listed. 

“Cool. I need a melee weapon so if I ever run out of MP I have a decent fall back.” I said to myself. It, thankfully, had a search bar. Typing in Bloodbringer a number of items popped up. Adding Bloodstained after it I found what I needed.

**Bloodbringer Familiar Shard**

**Behold! It's both a sword, and a familiar! This living weapon can LvL Up with you and even grants you certain skills! Costs 100,000 Creds.**

Yeah makes sense. The Bloodbringer wasn’t anywhere near an endgame shard but it was a pretty decent weapon and a really powerful familiar. I am going to be dragging Rias’s Peerage into the Zombie Endless Waves so I’ll probably get more Gacha Tokens and Creds. Looking back into my mirror the light shined out of it again as I blinked the spots out of my eyes. Looking at the clock next to my bed it had been about an hour since I came upstairs earlier. Tossing an Unrevived Armor Knight on my bed I pushed some MP into a ball in my hand. I need it to animate the knight. Surely that can’t be a high level spell right? Dropping the ball into its chest its eyes blinked slightly before dissipating and a purple mist floated from its mouth. That could be a bit annoying. Pushing more MP in the ball I dropped it into the Knights chest before its eyes lit up and it slowly sat up. Nice.

**You have unlocked the Familiars menu. You unlocked the Animate skill!**

**Animate LvL 1 / 100**

**Arise my creations! ARISE! You have begun your inevitable descent into power hungry insanity, casting aside your humanity for more and more power! Or just use it to animate the sponge so you don’t have to do the dishes. MP cost varies.**

**Necromancy LvL Up x6!**

**Animate LvL Up x3!**

Dropping it into my Familiars menu I checked my stats. How much MP do I have left? A little over 4,500 MP left. So I think that I can revive the rest of the Armor Knights. Dropping the other three onto the bed I quickly revived them and put them in my Familiars menu as well. Dropping the Titan onto my floor I pushed all of my left over MP into a ball before pushing it into its chest. Its eyes turned purple before flickering and dissipating with a purple fog bellowing from its mouth. Troublesome. I had hoped to make this into a sort of spear head for my teams. With it leading five man squads as the mastermind. Although I have no idea how intelligent Animate makes my units. Food for thought.


	2. Training Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get 1 Ara ara

“I can’t believe you!” Rias screeched. She must be really upset.

“Now, now Ria-tan. We both know you don’t have time if you want to beat Riser.” Sirzechs said.

“I had a plan! Now all the Higi magician is going to see me as is a lazy devil who runs to my big brother whenever I need help.” Rias said.

“It will be fine.” Sirzechs said.

“It’s too late now. But we will be talking about this later.” Rias said. As Sirzechs left I walked over to Rias.

“Rias is everything okay?” I asked. Rias softened slightly.

“Yes. Everything will be fine.” Rias said. She grabbed me and hugged me, pushing my face into her chest. As I blushed I could feel her smile from here.

“Ara ara, having fun Rias?” Akeno said. I felt myself blush as Rias grinned.

**Line Break**

“Somethings happening. I can sense it.” Issei said. I stared at him.

“Yes, lunch.” I said. Issei rolled his eyes.

“Or something interesting.” Issei said.

“I don’t know what porno your living in but the rest of us are in this thing called reality.” I said. Issei mumbled something about oppai before returning to his lunch. Turns out after his master plan of sneaking into the girls changing room on the first day with the other two they got hit by a punch with enough force to dent the locker. The other two got knocked out but Issei was further back and didn’t get bruised ribs. The other two are blaming him so here he is eating with me on the roof.

“Wait so you stuck three people in a locker?” I said. Issei tilted his head.

“Yeah. I mean they are pretty big.” Issei said.

“I could barely fit my bag in my locker in my last school.” I said. Issei laughed.

“America really isn’t known for its stellar school system. Oh, alliteration.” Issei said.

“Since when did you know big words?” I said. Issei scoffed in mock protest as our lunch continued without much incident. 

**Line Break**

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I said, bowing to Rias and her Peerage.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. My brother, Sirzechs said you’d offered to train me and my peerage. This is Akeno Himejima, my Queen, Yuuto Kiba, my Knight, Koneko Toujou, my Rook, and Asia Argento, my Bishop.” Rias said. I nodded, keeping my face neutral. Asia is here early… I think. I had managed to set up my HUB so once I sent them in it would immediately put them in the Zombie Waves.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I assume you all know but I am Akihito Higi. Follow me, and we can begin. I have a mirror that makes a pocket dimension to train in.” I said. Picking up the mirror from the coffee table in the living room the light flashed out wrapping them up with it and transporting them to the Zombie Waves. Looking into the mirror myself the light hit me and even with my eyes closed I had to blink the spots out of my eyes as the others were looking around curiously. 

“They should start spawning soon, just hold on for one sec.” I said. Kiba pulled out a sword from somewhere before a groan made them look down the street. It was a small horde with only about 30 Zombies.

**Sidequest created!**

**Objective: Survive 5 Waves**

**Bonus Objective: Kill 5 Special Infected**

**Bonus Objective: Survive 10 Waves.**

Rias’s peerage quickly defeated them with Rias killing a large group with a blast of Power of Destruction.

**Wave 1 completed!**

“If that’s our training this’ll be easy.” Akeno said.

“Not quite. It gets harder.” I said. Dropping the Armor Knights from my Familiar menu I grabbed the bodies that were still in one piece and went into a mostly stable room. Inventory please.

**Items:**

**Unrevived Armored Titan x1**

**Dead Basic Zombie x 63**

**Dead Basic Crawler x 28**

**Dead Basic Runner x 8**

**Steel Armor (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 31 Defense.**

**Steel Boots (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 12 Defense.**

**Steel Boots (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 12 Defense.**

**Trench Coat (Clothing)**

**Leather trench coat from Watch Dogs. Gives no defense.**

**Ghost (DOT EXE skin)**

**“Trust me. I got this.” Famous last words. A silenced semi automatic pistol that deals a fair amount of damage on hit. This weapon deals (Dex x 3.5) damage. This weapon has a 15 round magazine. 15 / 89 ammo.**

**MX Dark Magic Catalyst**

**The main component of many magic builds this sphere is a powerful catalyst. This version of the Dark Magic Catalyst is so powerful it can recreate Living Weapons as dark Hollows of the originals. This Item cannot be upgraded. Requires LvL 50 Dark Magic Mastery.**

I have a lot of bodies. With my Armor Knights outside and Rias’s peerage I don’t need to worry about any weak Zombies distracting me. I’m fairly certain that in order to animate something I need to give it MP equivalent to its HP. So animating an Armored Titan is less than doable for now. For now the best option would be making more Armor Knights. How expensive are they game?

**Armor Knight**

**An old classic of any fairy tale. Armor Knights require two bodies and 100 MP to create. They have 500 HP and can store up to 2,000 MP. They cannot cast spells and instead use MP for healing. They have a Defense of 250.**

So they take about 600 MP to create and animate, and cost 2 bodies so I can make… 49 and then I’d have to wait but I’ll be able to animate 10 at a time before needing to recharge. Plus I can have the Knights bring me bodies to make more of them. Dropping two of the bodies I molded it into the form of the knight before dropping it off to the side. Repeating this process a small noise made me look up.

**Fleshcrafting LvL Up x1!**

**Character LvL Up x1!**

**Wave 2 Cleared!**

Nice. Getting Strength up to 50 and putting the rest into Dexterity nothing happened. I guess it only works for things related to HP and MP. Still I could use more of everything and 50 is a good benchmark. Continuing the process the door opened with my knights dropping more bodies. 

“You smell like death.” Toujou said. I didn’t watch that much of the anime but is she really this blunt?

“Toujou right? I’ve been told Death smells sickly sweet. Any comment?” I asked. 11 new bodies huh? Convenient, as I had an odd number before. Making more of the bodies, Toujou shook her head.

“No. Rot smells sickly sweet. You smell of the essence of Death.” Toujou said. Pausing I looked up at her.

“Pardon?” I said. She shrugged.

“Death smells of good memories, but tainted. Like good food, but burned.” Toujou said. Resuming I shrugged.

“Interesting. Shouldn’t you be helping Rias?” I said. Walking over to the pile of 10 inanimate Armor Knights Toujou shook her head.

“I spend time training. Besides, the Armor Knights make up for my absence.” Toujou said. Rearranging the pile so they were laid out shoulder to shoulder I revived them one at a time as Toujou watched. Sending them out the door with a mental command I sat in the corner as Toujou stared at me.

“So how did you join Rias’s peerage? If you don’t mind me asking.” I said. Toujou blinked before shrugging.

“My sister went insane. Killed my old master and everyone there. They responded by massacring Nekomatas. Rias found me and offered me safety in her peerage.” Toujou said.

“They massacred Nekomatas because one of them went insane? That would be like if I massacred all of the fallen because three tried to kill my dad.” I said. Toujou tilted her head.

“Would you let the perpetrators live?” Toujou said, confused.

“No of course not. I’d kill them and anyone complicit in the schemes but I wouldn’t kill all of them. That’s stupid.” I said. Toujou tilted her head.

**Koneko Toujou Affection +5**

**Animate LvL Up x12!**

**Necromancy LvL Up x 9!**

**Fleshcrafting LvL Up x2!**

**Waved 3 Completed!**

“So why did you agree to train us?” Koneko said.

“Because Sirzechs. Fucking. Lucifer. Was sitting in my living room. No further explanation needed.” I said. Koneko had a ghost of a grin for half a second before returning to her stony facade. My knights returned, dumping more bodies into the pile.

“Did Sirzechs tell you about Riser?” Koneko asked.

“Just that he had a marriage contract with Rias. What’s he like?” I asked. I don’t remember him from the anime all that well and I never bothered to buy the light novels so I’ve got no clue.

“He’s a scumbag who thinks he’s the best because he can regenerate.” Toujou said.

“I’ll look into preventing that then. Or at the very least, soul capture.” I said. 

“You seem to dislike Rias.” Toujou said.

“She seems lazy. Most other people don’t have the luxury of a big brother Lucifer to bail them out of everything and the Gremory Luck just compounds the issue.” I said.

“Yet you agreed to help us and have your knights assisting us. If you really didn’t like her you’d hole up in this room and let us fight them alone.” Toujou said. I groaned.

“She’s polite and I won’t kneecap her if she actually wants to try. Plus I don’t have a reference for other demons so far. But your description of Riser tells me I could have done worse.” I said.

**Character LvL Up!**

**Wave 4 Completed!**

“Riser uses his Peerage as his own personal Harem. Some Demons derive power from suffering and use their Peerage as portable pain batteries. The Gremory Family is famous not only for their luck but also their kindness towards their peerage.” Kiba said. Looking towards the door Kiba stood, with a few dead zombies tossed over his shoulder.

“Huh. I’ll take meeting her first as a win then.” I said.

“Rias is nice.” Koneko said. I shrugged.

“What’s her connection with Sona? I’m assuming she must have one as she’s in Kuoh with her. I had to fill out almost a mile of paperwork before they let me in.” I said. Kiba grimaced.

“She and Rias used to be friends but they got in a fight recently over Riser. Grayfina said that Rias should stop this rebellion since she hasn’t put forth any effort to train and Sona agreed with her. Ironically Grayfina’s main point is that Rias should do her duty to her family when Grayfina herself betrayed her family.” Kiba said.

“That’s a bit hypocritical innit?” I said. Koneko shrugged.

“Demons aren’t considered the worst extremes of humanity for nothing.” Koneko said.

“You two go train. I’m gonna make more knights.” I said. Kiba smiled and waved over his shoulder as he left while Koneko stood up but stayed. Making more Knights I lined 10 up before animating them. My familiar menu is starting to get cluttered. Can I see it please?

**Familiars:**

**Armor Knight HP: 497 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 488 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 499 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 429 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 495 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 489 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 498 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 489 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 498 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 492 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 494 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 497 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 499 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 497 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

Walking out the room after putting the pile in my inventory one of my Armor Knights had a spider webbing crack across its chest and on its back. Feeding it MP the crack sealed with a small burst of purple mist. My Armor Knights were mostly dealing with the Zombies that got too close with Kiba and Toujou while Rias and Akeno stood in the back and took potshots at the further Zombies. Rias was using her Power of Destruction to take out the stronger Zombies while Akeno was using Lightning to take down the groups of Zombies. All in all they had this in the bad, especially with my Knights helping them. My knights quickly took out the remaining Armored Walker by several of them stabbing it simultaneously. Looking around more closely the street was filled with craters and scorch marks. Rias’s power of destruction must be more powerful than I thought.

**Animate LvL Up x11!**

**Necromancy LvL Up x4!**

**Character LvL Up x1!**

**Objective Completed! You Survived 5 Waves!**

**Rewards: Rank Up Token x1!**

**Bonus Objective Completed! You Killed 5 Special Infected!**

**Rewards: Gacha Token x2!**

Rank up Token?

**All Skills have a Rank. Starting at none but increasing in Roman Numerals.**

Nice. I’ll use it on Assimilate so I can get more from eating them. Who knows maybe I’ll even get skills.

**You Ranked Up Assimilate!**

**Assimilate LvL 1 / 100 Rank I**

**A rather complex Fleshcrafting skill. It absorbs a target using their body to improve the caster’s own. Costs 10,000 MP. Costs less if the target is restrained. Costs less if the target is weakened. Costs less if targets MP is empty or they have no MP. Chance to Steal common Skills.**

Can I get my Inventory please?

**Items:**

**Gacha Token x2**

**Unrevived Armored Titan x1**

**Dead Basic Zombie x 89**

**Dead Basic Crawler x 45**

**Dead Basic Runner x 22**

**Steel Armor (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 31 Defense.**

**Steel Boots (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 12 Defense.**

**Steel Boots (Heavy Armor)**

**Steel armor from Skyrim. Gives 12 Defense.**

**Trench Coat (Clothing)**

**Leather trench coat from Watch Dogs. Gives no defense.**

**Ghost (DOT EXE skin)**

**“Trust me. I got this.” Famous last words. A silenced semi automatic pistol that deals a fair amount of damage on hit. This weapon deals (Dex x 3.5) damage. This weapon has a 15 round magazine. 15 / 89 ammo.**

**MX Dark Magic Catalyst**

**The main component of many magic builds this sphere is a powerful catalyst. This version of the Dark Magic Catalyst is so powerful it can recreate Living Weapons as dark Hollows of the originals. This Item cannot be upgraded. Requires LvL 50 Dark Magic Mastery.**

I have 156 bodies… Okay then. I’m gonna edit my team structure slightly. First off I need 4 Armor Knights, then 1 Armored Titan, after that I should make some ranged attackers. Maybe a pair of Bayrocks? Adding Bayrocks and an Undead Mage would be a useful ranged addition. Especially since resistance to Death Magic is uncommon in anything besides other Necromancy creatures. I need to plan this later. Let’s see what Wave 6 has to offer. 

“More Runners.” Kiba said, slicing down two. Letting loose a set of Shadowflares they rocketed forward killing the Runners and turning the Crawlers to ash. As Akeno launched a Lightning Bolt at the rest of the Crawlers, Rias sent a blast of Destruction magic at a tightly packed group of Walkers vaporizing them and leaving another crater in the street. Looking through the crowd of Zombies in the back was a half decayed body in a robe. It held up its hands and gather a ball of dark magic in the center of its hands before launching it at a knight. Launching my Shadowflares they intercepted it and destroyed it, but only barely. Dumping my points into Agility I rush forward, dodging the errant zombie swings and the occasional spell from the Mage before getting close enough to cast Binding Bone and knocking it down to assimilate it.

**You Assimilated Dark Zombie Mage! Int Multiplier +3, Wis + 3, MP Multiplier + 10!**

That’s useful. Fortunately my Knights managed to kill most of the Walkers while they were distracted with me rushing the Mage.

“Why’d you rush it like that? We could have just killed it.” Rias said.

“Because then I wouldn’t get to eat it. You’d vaporize it or, hit it with lightning and burn it or chop it in half. I need to be more powerful if I’m going to deal with Riser. Or make more powerful Troops.” I said. Rias tilted her head.

“Then why don’t you eat all of the zombies?” Asia asked.

“You can only get so much from them. I didn’t get that far since I was using too much magic to have time to animate the Knights. Besides, I don’t think I can get any more from the rest of these guys. Except maybe the Armored Walkers and the Mages.” I said. 

**Binding Bones LvL Up x2!**

**Assimilate Rank 1 LvL Up x2!**

**Shadowflare LvL Up!**

**Wave 6 Complete!**

“Here, catch.” Koneko said. He tossed an Armored Walker that had died at me. Grabbing it out of the air, a quick Assimilation made me grin.

**You assimilated an Armored Walker! Vitality Multiplier +1, Endurance +1!**

**You stole Magic Resistance!**

**Magic Resistance LvL 1**

**A basic skill, but a powerful one too. Being able to simply shrug off magical attacks that could level mountains at the high end. But for now enjoy not burning yourself on magic candles. Deals LvL less damage.**

“Nice. They have some sort of Magic Resistance ability I was able to mimic.” I said. Kiba nodded. I started to walk over to them before getting blindsided by a bolt of Dark Magic from another Mage. Rolling with the momentum I turned to see a much smaller horde. However they had several Armored Walkers and the two of the Runners were leaner and appeared stronger. They quickly charged me and I began dodging past their swipes, slowly retreated to my group of Knights, occasionally hitting them with Bone Shards and Shadowflares as I backed up. Rias was busy launching more of the explosions at the groups while Akeno hit the Walkers with Lightning. Kiba rushed forward to cut down the improved runners and help me.

“These things are fast.” Kiba said as the runner ducked under his swing. Hitting it in the knee with a Bone Shard it fell backwards allowing me to eat it before it could recover.

**You Assimilated Improved Runner! Dexterity Multiplier +2 Agility +3!**

These things are going to be a pain in my ass I can already tell. As Kiba pressured the other runner I hit it with Binding Bones before eating it as Kiba slashed a bolt of Darkness out of the air.

**You Assimilated Improved Runner! Dexterity Multiplier +3 Agility +2!**

Nice. Launching another volley of Shadowflares they splashed harmlessly off the Armored Walkers bodies. Switching to Mass Bone Shards they bounced off on its chest but stuck in the joints and pierced its elbows and knees. Backing up behind the line of my Knights, Koneko punched off the head of an Armored Walker before ducking under the swipe of another and punching it through the chest.

“Hey, how much could you improve if you ate an Exorcist?” Rias asked, blasting away an Armored Walker.

“Depends. I could probably improve my Magic by a lot. Maybe even get their understanding of light magic.” I said. Rias nodded and bit her thumb.

“It would be useful for you to have Light Magic. Knowing my brother he’ll pull some bullshit and drag you into the Rating Game. Sorry about him by the way. I initially wanted to ask you myself and offer you a Familiar but he decided to beat me to it.” Rias said. I hummed. Overbearing big brother who happens to be Lucifer… Okay. I really wish I watched the anime now. Rushing the now alone Mage I assimilated it before rushing back behind my line.

**You Assimilated Dark Zombie Mage! Int Multiplier +3, Wis + 3, MP Multiplier + 10!**

**Bone Shard LvL Up x3!**

**Mass Bone Shard LvL Up x4!**

**Assimilate Rank I LvL Up x2!**

**Shadowflare LvL Up x2!**

**Magic Resistance LvL Up x3!**

**Character LvL Up x1!**

**Wave 7 Complete!**

“He doesn’t think I’m doing this for free does he? I like to think of myself as nice but I’m not that nice.” I said. 

“I will talk to him about that. In the meantime we will be going to the Familiar Forest soon and you are allowed in there whenever. You need better materials to make stronger Knights yeah?” Rias said. I nodded.

“Yeah. Although I prefer calling them abominations.” I said. Pulling an Armored Titan out of my inventory I animated it, watching it rise and stretch slowly as mist rose from its eyes slightly due to its new life. Rias gasped slightly.

“That’s a big abomination.” Koneko said. I laughed.

“Yeah. It could tank a 50 Cal. to the dome and keep on trucking. Expensive to make and animate. I could only probably animate two at a time before running out of Magic. For reference I could fill up 23 Armor Knights so they can regenerate, while I could only fill up one of these Armored Titan. I’ll make a few more for my teams but not nearly as many as my Armor Knights.” I said. Rias blinked twice.

“These must be powerful then. I noticed you don’t have any ranged abominations though.” Asia said. I nodded.

“I intend to summon some monsters but until then my range will be limited to the range of the Armored Titan.” I said. As more of the Zombies spawned I began making another Armored Titan to make sure the Teams are complete. Watching as the Armored Titan killed the majority of Zombies with ease. Unfortunately there were no Mages. Reviving the second Titan it assisted the other as I sat down utterly exhausted. 

**You gained the Debuff [Exhausted]**

**[Exhausted]**

**You overused your magic. MP regeneration canceled until you sleep, drink a status removing drink, or drink an MP Drink.**

Show me my HP and MP please.

**HP: 11,296 / 12,200**

**MP: 0 / 46,620**

Shit. That’s a problem. I guess I thought my magic recovered faster than it does. But it’s good to know I can use HP in place of MP if I need to. Or is that just how much HP I’ve lost so far from my Fleshcrafting?

“Magic Exhaustion. You really should have waited before Animating that second Titan.” Kiba said. I groaned.

“Fuck off. I thought I had enough to revive the second one. But if you’re so smart then how about you build an entire being from fucking scratch. Have you ever tried turning a heart into a Lung? Not easy.” I said. Kiba laughed.

“Alright then grumpy. I’m surprised you don’t have any Magic Pots. American Devils pump those things out like crazy.” Kiba said. I huffed.

“I don’t have all of my gear. Besides you try getting drugs past TSA without Illusion magic.” I said. Note to self, look into Magic Pots.

**Fleshcrafting LvL Up x1!**

**Necromancy LvL Up x1!**

**Wave 8 Complete!**

“I’ll be fine. Just gonna take a nap. Ugh, remind me to never exhaust my Magic again.” I said. Walking over to a mostly standing building I walk inside slumped against the wall opposite the door. Hey game, how does HP and MP recovery work?

**HP does not recover in battle or outside of battle. Injuries will be restored but you will not recover HP. HP is restored slowly over long periods of time. MP recovers by Int / 10,000 points every second. Wis will reduce the amount of time between regeneration.**

I sighed. Screw it. I’m taking a nap.

**Line Break**

“Will you go on a date with me, Issei?” She said. I blinked. Here I was think I was never gonna get a girl and this smoking hot babe just asks me out.

“Sure I’d love to! I’ll see you tomorrow after school then Yuma.” I said. Score. We talked a bit more before parting. Pulling out my phone I sent a text to Akihito.

**Brainless: Dude you’ll never believe what happened to me!**

**Brawnless: You got hit by a truck and now you're in a Isekai hentai that's actually your brain's last thoughts?**

**Brainless: What? No. I got asked out on a date!**

**Brawnless: Bullshit. You're built like a tugboat no way anyone would find that attractive enough to ignore your personality.**

**Brainless: Haha. Bet you 100 bucks I do have one and I’ll show you after school.**

**Brawnless: I’ll take that bet and double it. I have money from my old part time jobs but I doubt you do.**

**Brainless: You’ll be paying for my totally real date tomorrow. See you tomorrow sucker.**

Putting my phone away I laughed to myself. Easy money ever. Should I make another bet like this? I’ll bet him $400 I get a second date! Who needs a part time job when Akihito will just give me money? Walking into my house there was a note on the table.

_ Your Father and I are going to meet up with a friend of ours. Dinner is in the fridge. We’ll be home after you’ve gone to bed so don’t stay up too late. Remember to do your homework and be good! _

Nice. I need to tell the others. No doubt they're already playing. Flopping onto my desk chair and turning on my computer I booted up Tower of God Online as I grinned. I wonder if I can get the other two to agree to the same bet.

**Line Break**

**You Assimilated Dark Zombie Mage! Int Multiplier +3, Wis + 3, MP Multiplier + 10!**

**You stole Dark Magic Mastery!**

**Dark Magic Mastery LvL 1**

**Dark Magic is one of the Primary Seven Magic Types. It is the antithesis of Light. Dark Magic is also known as Malice Magic or Demon Magic. It can be used to create weapons, minions, bosses, and even cast curses. It is one of the direct descendants of Cosmic Magic as well as Light. Dark Magic deals LvL% more damage and costs LvL less MP.**

**Wave 9 Complete!**

Nice. Grinning as my Knights finished off the last Armored Walker I hummed. Game show me my HP and MP please.

**HP: 11,302 / 12,600**

**MP: 2,026 / 90,40**

Not as full as I would like but it will do for the last little bit. So far the Titans have mostly just been punching bags or distractions while the Knights kill off the majority of enemies. While I was resting I did find this though.

**Armor Knight Stats:**

**Vitality: Base x 5**

**Strength: Base x 15**

**Dexterity: Base x 5**

**Agility: Base x 2.5**

**Intelligence: Base x 0.1**

**Armored Titan Stats:**

**Vitality: Base x 30**

**Strength: Base x 5**

**Dexterity: Base**

**Agility: Base x 0.5**

**Intelligence: Base x 0.1**

Apparently their stats are based on mine. Vitality boosts defense and resistances, and the others are more simple. When I asked the game why they are so strong, apparently Fleshcrafting is almost completely ignored and as such they decided to give more incentives to use it. Did you know they’re on Patch 2.90.18? It’s been going since before the big bang. The Help menu said something about the Universe collapsing and expanding over and over again is why the game’s so old. Honestly I wasn’t paying attention.

“At this rate it’ll take us all night to get to a challenge.” Rias said.

“Aren’t both you and Akeno running low on Magic? Plus this is good training. I watched a few of Riser’s matches after my nap and this is close to what he does. He sends his Peerage to defeat and weaken his opponents then swoops in for the clean up while the commenters praise his strength for taking on the seven or eight remaining peerage members who are also conveniently totally exhausted.” I said. Rias’s eyes widened.

“Wait so you mean he’s not as strong as I was told?” Rias said.

“Oh no his Regen and Fire powers are gonna be a massive pain for you. But if you can take out his Peerage with ease then you all might stand a chance. Otherwise it’s gonna be a massive slog. Speaking of a big bad, sending out a number of enemies to soften people up I think we found our guy.” I said. Looking past the line there was a large Zombie who wore Robes and had a Wooden Staff. Watching it reared its head back and roared before pointing its staff at us and launching a number of bolts of Darkness at us I ducked out of the way and recalled my Abominations.

“Good luck you guys! You’ll need the experience for when you fight Riser.” I said. Dropping my Abominations in the Familiars Menu as Kiba slashed a few bolts out of the air and began running at the Boss with Koneko right behind him. Rias and Akeno launched small attacks with Rias grimacing as it splashed harmlessly over a shield of Darkness that also blocked Kiba’s swing and Koneko’s punch.

“I believe in you guys!” I said. Asia waved and grinned as Kiba ducked under a blast and Koneko was encompassed in a massive cone of dark magic almost three feet in diameter. Asia rushed forward, healing Koneko as Kiba kept the Boss distracted.

“It’s got a Dark magic shield. Your best bet would be Rias’s Power of Destruction to punch a hole or if any of you have secret light magic try blasting the entire shield down.” I said. Akeno chewed her lip as Rias began charging an attack. Kiba continued to strike at the shield to keep it’s attention. I vaguely remember something about Akeno having trauma about being a Fallen Angel? Or something? I really wish I knew what the hell was going on.

“Here we go!” Rias said, launching a small cone of PoD at the Dark Shield making it slowly crumble. As the Shield fell Kiba rushed the Boss slashing it repeatedly before retreating while Koneko continuously knocked it off balance with Ki blasts. It roared, blasting everyone away rebuilding it’s shield and focusing on Rias, not giving her time to concentrate. Asia ran to Kiba and Koneko, healing them while Akeno and Rias dodged the magic blasts.

“It won’t let you hit it with the same attack twice. However it also looks like it’s begun fixing the shield as it gets damaged. If you can’t hit it with PoD you’ll need to hit it with a lot of magic at once or find a way to pierce its shield with melee.” I said. Kiba stood up and focused his magic. What is he doing? Watching as a sword materialized next to Kiba it looked different to the sword he held before. On it where glowing runes that appeared to pulse when magic was used. Kiba rushed the Boss, stabbing through its shield and making it lose concentration, dropping the spell it was about to throw at Rias and its Shield entirely. Akeno and Rias blasted it with all of their remaining magic while Koneko hit it with a burst of attacks to try and kill it. It let out one last roar before falling back and dispersing into a thick white mist.

**Bonus Objective Complete! You Survived 10 Waves!**

**Bonus Rewards: Gacha Token x4!**

**Character LvL Up x2!**

**You beat Zombie Hordes Wave 10 for the first time! You got 25,000 Creds!**

**You completed Easy Zombie Unlimited Waves for the first time! You got 25,000 Creds!**

“Alright. Let’s pack it up for today.” I said. They nodded as a flash of light swept through the area depositing us back in the living room.

“Yeah let’s… Let’s do that.” Rias said. She dropped into a chair with Akeno falling on top of her. Kiba sat down much more dignified in the chair across from them while Koneko sat next to me on the couch and Asia sat on the other end of the couch.

“Did you have fun?” Sirzechs said. I groaned.

“I hate mirrors forever now.” Rias said. Akeno laughed on her lap.

“I have a magic mirror that makes things for people to fight. The Boss was powerful so they ended up getting tired so here we are.” I said. Sirzechs nodded.

“Well now I am glad I came. I’ll teleport you back. But I should tell you. They have moved the Rating Game forward. Father found out you were training and decided to move it forward to a week before Valentine’s Day.” Sirzechs said. 

“Long enough for the swelling to stop huh? The Mirror will only work for this big a group once a week so no you can’t hop back in tomorrow.” I said. Rias groaned.

“Shit. Ah great. Okay. We’ll be back next Tuesday then. Don’t do anything stupid and don’t go in the Forest by yourself.” Rias said. I waved her off. Focusing on the door of the fridge I pictured it opening in my mind before pushing Magic in its direction. Hearing the fridge open I grabbed a Pear Redbull before closing it. I’m so glad I decided to grab these after school. Floating it into the livingroom and into my hand as Rias gathered her peerage I waved to them as Sirzechs teleported them.

**Common MP Drink**

**A sweet energy drink that restores 10% of MP and removes [Exhausted] Debuff.**

Nice. Do I get the Telekinesis spell or no?

**Telekinesis is a more advanced spell and cannot be earned without a spell scroll or spell book.**

That’s annoying. Ah well. Quickly drinking the Red Bull I walked upstairs to my room before collapsing on my bed. I need a spearhead for my teams and I think I know just the thing. Grabbing my phone from my pocket, a quick google search confirmed it.

**Sidhe**

**This evil Faerie spirits away lone children who wander into Faerie Circles. Ironically they also make great babysitters if they decided not to spirit away a child. They have 1,000 HP and 200,000 MP. They can heal allies, cast poison spells, and cast curses. They regenerate MP on their own. They have 0 Defense.**

**Bayrok**

**This Undead unit is as Common as it is accurate. The Undead Archers are in almost every game with undead. They have 2,000 HP and 1,000 MP. They can shoot magically improved arrows and use Wind Jump to jump great heights. They regenerate MP on their own. They have 25 Defense.**

Grinning, I stretched. If I remember correctly Sidhe is a catch all term for the Faerie people from Irish mythology but the description of Sidhe is more reminiscent of the enemy from Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night that drops the Healing Manipulation shard. As such it should fall under Necromancy as the entire Castle in that game and everything in it was summoned from a book of necromancy.

“Alright. Let’s summon these then I’m gonna pass out.” I said. Looking into The Mirror the light encompassed me before I sat down at the projector. Looking through the slides I found what I was looking for. ‘Open World Zombie Apocalypse’ was printed on the slide. Putting it in the projector the light flashed over me as I rubbed my eyes. Walking into a nearby house I prepared all the necessary ingredients to summon them, which were thankfully listed underneath the description and also cheap on the market. Placing them in the center of the circle, filled with runes and words in a language I couldn’t read, I cut my hand with a kitchen knife. Letting it drip down onto the circle it lit up with two twin lights forming in the center.

“Can you help us mister? We don’t know where we are.” The one on the left said. She looked like a young girl with short straight red hair. Her left eye was a mossy Green and her right eye was a shining bloody Red. She wore a completely white dress that went down to her shins. She had on no shoes and looked to be about 11.

“Yeah. We were just playing in a circle when something grabbed us and now we’re here.” The one on the right said. She was almost identical to her sister. The only differences was her left eye was Red and her right eye was Green and she had long curly red hair as opposed to Lefties short straight hair.

“Of course. Why don’t the two of you come here and I can help you find your parents.” I said, holding out my arms. They flinched.

“Alright you got us.” Leftie said. I grinned.

“I told you we should have appeared older. Teenage boys don’t like 11 year olds, they like hot girls.” Rightie said. I rolled my eyes.

“Excuse me but no. Besides I’m not even going to pretend to be fooled if you showed up as a teen. You snatch children from Faerie circles not teens. Also I might not have been raised in Ireland but something tells me parents don’t send their kids to frolic in Faerie circles, especially not in a nightgown without shoes.” I said. Leftie rubbed the back of her head and chuckled nervously while Rightie crossed her arms and huffed.

“Alright fine. So what do you want?” Rightie said.

“I need the two of you to spearhead different squads of my creations.” I said. Leftie nodded as Rightie groaned.

“Fun. Leading some squad of half decaying bodies latched to some crazy summoner.” Rightie said.

“First off, they have bone armor. I’m not throw defenseless bodies at something and hope they die of smell second off, I am mostly sane.” I said. Rightie gave me a deadpan stare.

“No sane person jumps to summoning Fae when they need a leader for a squad.” Leftie said.

“Fine, whatever, I'm crazy. Just, get out of the circle so I can summon Bayroks.” I said. They huffed before their bodies flaked away revealing their true forms. They had four arms and their legs ended in a point with no feet. They had two sets of wings similar to a dragonfly and their skins were a shade of blue with the same hair and eyes. Flying out of the circle I bought the other materials for summoning four Bayroks and placed them in the center of the circle. Summoning them they had large green hats, reminiscent of the ones cartoonish wizards wear, that did nothing to cover their long orange hair. The top half of their faces were covered with a strip of cloth with the bottom half being dominated by a large mouth with pointed blackened teeth. They had a lean build and had molted greyish purple skin.

“So this is our new summoner huh? Lady Death has been keeping an eye on you.” The first Bayrok said. 

“That’s… Concerning.” I said. It chuckled.

“She won’t kill you… yet.” It said. I sighed. Even when I’ve been reborn I can’t be left alone.

“Whatever. If it’s not immediate it can wait.” I said. Pulling out Teams 1 and 2 I appointed the Sidhe as the leaders before sending them out into the Open World Zombie Dungeon. With them roaming around fighting enemies I’ll be getting LvLs 24/7 even when I’m at school or doing something else. Like training up skills with Rias and her Peerage. But I’m gonna do the Gacha Tokens I have first then see where I’m at before passing out. Snapping a Token the customary confetti popped out as a weight settled in my hand. 

**You got a Rare Pull! Breather Mask!**

**Breather Mask**

**A mask that allows its readers to completely ignore inhalants in the air. Wearing grants immunity to Smoke, Poison Gas, Sleep Gas, Paralysis Gas, and any other Gas type attack. Gives 10 Defense.**

Looking at the mask it was similar in design to Nine’s mask with a few stark differences. Instead of Nine’s thin veins that lead to the injectors this mask had three thick stripes at the cheekbone, cheek, and jaw. Placing it on my face it was comfortable and sat neatly under my glasses. Taking it off and placing it in my inventory I snapped the second Token. Watching the confetti it poofed away into purple mist after about a second. 

**You got a Common Pull! 500 Credits!**

Snapping the third I shrugged. I did get a Legendary so I’m not too upset about this.

**You got a Common Pull! 250 Credits!**

Something tells me I’m not getting anything good besides the Mask. Sighing I snapped the last three Tokens at once. Unfortunately the game decided to blast me with an exponentially larger amount of confetti that lasted for almost a full minute before disappearing. Fucking magic bullshit.

**You got a Common Pull! 1,000 Credits!**

**You got an Uncommon Pull! 10,000 Credits!**

**You got an Uncommon Pull! 15,000 Credits!**

Thank you. Stretching I groaned. With the Sidhe guiding my teams I can trust them to kill the smaller groups and run from anything big or distract them while the Bayroks and Armor Knights cut it down. Yawning and collapsing backwards I sighed. Getting all of my stats up to 50 I grinned.

**Name: Akihito Higi**

**LvL: 13 (1.8%)**

**Race: Arcane Human**

**Title: Physical Powerhouse**

**Secondary Title: None**

**HP (Vit x 20): 12,600**

**MP (Int x 80): 90,400**

**Vitality: 630 (63 x 10)**

**Endurance: 500 (50 x 10)**

**Strength: 500 (50 x 10)**

**Dexterity: 500 (50 x 10)**

**Agility: 500 (50 x 10)**

**Intelligence: 1,130 (113 x 10)**

**Wisdom: 1,000 (100 x 10)**

**Charisma: 50**

**Luck: 50**

**Bonus: 8**

**Creds: 91,750**

Grinning to myself at the sheer power I held at only LvL 13. The question is what do I want to do with the other Bonus Points? Int would be nice but Agility is never a bad idea. But my MP is so close to 100K. I’ll sleep on it. 


	3. Naptime's Over

“Will you die for me?” Yuma said. I flinched backwards.

“What? I think I must have heard you wrong.” I said. Watching as she jumped back and stood on the tip of the fountain behind her. The fountain was easily 40 meters away and 10 meters in the air. Backing up I fell on butt and began scampering away as she transformed into some sort of maid dress. What is going on? Getting up onto my feet and turning around I ran and looked over my shoulder just in time to see her pull a pink spear out of nothing and throw it at me. Tripping and falling it soared over my head.

“Oh come on. Be a good boy and die for me. You said you’d do anything for me.” Yuma said. I don’t want to die. Shit I really wish I had some help. Ducking behind a tree I pulled out my phone to call someone.

“Hey Issei what’s up?” Akihito said.

“You know the fountain? I need you to get over here. My date is a fucking demon.” I said. The tree I was hiding behind lifted up with Yuma standing over me. My jaw went slack as she tossed the tree away, over the fountain and into the gate at the entrance, blocking my only escape.

“No no no I’m a Fallen Angel. Now hold still.” Yuma said. Ducking under a swing from a pink spear I ran away as she shook her head.

“I can’t believe Raynare made me go on a date with a stupid human. That Twilight Healing better be worth it.” Yuma muttered to herself. The gate I used to get in is blocked but there’s no way that’s the only one right? Running around the park I dodged more spears before finding a gate running towards it. Tripping a tree trunk flies over my head.

“No!” I shouted fruitlessly as the tree slammed into the gate, blocking my only chance of survival. I felt myself began to cry as Yuma walked up behind me slowly.

“Stop referring to me as Yuma. My name is Mittelt. You got that? I hate humans. You filthy cockroaches aren’t even worthy of my presence. Why aren’t you thinking of the Gremory Heiress? You’re ruining the plan.” Mittelt said. Damn you. I don’t know what your plan is. Or even who this Gremory Heiress is.

**I’m not going back to the collection so listen closely. That Fallen Angel has been using only her spear. Either she can’t use magic or she refuses to use magic on you. You can use this. I’m going to Dragon Boost you. Once I do get up and run behind a tree and punch it at her.**

“Now I’m going insane, hearing voices in my head.” I said. I felt a small pull on my right hand. Looking it had become encased in a red gauntlet. Oh whatever. I’m gonna die either way. Getting up and running behind a nearby tree I punched it as hard as I could. Watching in amazement it shattered and flew through the air with Mittelt slicing it in half with her spear.

“Why won’t you just die? The long it takes to kill you the longer I have to be here.” Mittelt said. Running away I punched another tree at her, not even waiting to see if it hit her. Dammit. I know I’m not this weak. Why am I already tired?

**Dragon Boost takes a lot of stamina to use and you’ve been sprinting the entire time. Calm down. Sprinting will only make you tired faster.**

Slowing down to a brisk jog I began making my way back to the main gate. If I somehow survive this I’m never skipping gym again. Speaking of which, who the hell are you? 

**I am Ddraig! The Red Dragon Emperor!**

“Come on out little boy. You may have unlocked your sacred gear but you can’t beat me.” Mittelt said. Even if I just kept on punching trees at her I won’t be able to do anything. Plus what could Akihito even do? He introduced himself as the Pharmacists son! He’s not interesting! What I need is to find a big log and knock her out with it. Long enough for me to get away. Once I get home I’ll look up who the Gremory Heiress is and ask her about this.

“You think so loud.” Mittelt said, suddenly in front of me. Barely dodging the spear swing I stumbled backwards against a tree. Welp, end of the line. I just wish I got to see some boobies before I died. Just as I had finished my internal will 13 purple fireballs with black smoke around them flew around the tree and towards Mittelt. She jumped back, deftly swiping them out of the air.

“I don’t suppose I could convince you to fuck off could I?” Akihito said. He wore metal armor and had on a trenchcoat and mask. In his off hand was a gun with weird blue markings. He looks so cool what the hell?

“You are quite rude. But to answer your question no. We need anyone with a sacred gear to die. Now step aside. We don’t have to fight.” Mittelt said. She paused for a moment before jumping in the air a moment before a writhing tendril of darkness burst from the ground whipping around in a desperate attempt to catch what was no longer there. He launched another volley of fireballs at her before grabbing me and dragging me away.

“Alright, what the fuck did you do?” Akihito asked.

“What do you mean? I thought I was on a date with a normal, albeit flat, girl and she just decided I needed to die!” I said. Akihito groaned before reaching behind his chestplate and pulling out a sword that looked to be made of bones.

“Here. It’s sharp so be careful. Next time she attacks I need you to distract her while I cast.” Akihito said. I nodded. Mittelt landed in front of us.

“Come on now. I can let you live if you give me the Longinus. There’s no need for the death count to escalate to two. That’d be super lame.” Mittelt said.

“In case your fucking daft I’m a magician. You’re going to have to report to your higher ups that I exist and how many magicians do you know?” Akihito said. Mittelt thought for a second.

“Three counting you. I killed the other two. Oh I see now.” Mittelt said. Akihito facepalmed.

“Since you didn’t get the glowing ‘I’m distracting her, now's a good time to attack’ billboard I’ll just start this myself.” Akihito said. Mittelt turned around and sliced a tree out of the air with a tendril barely visible as it slunk back underground. Rushing forward I clumsily slashed at Mittelt with the bone sword as a barrage of fireballs closed in on her at all sides. She easily batted me away and slashed the fireballs out of the air.

**No you idiot that’s not how you hold a Gladius! Hand directly under the guard. Your other hand should be ready to grab the part of her spear that’s not pointy. Your serving distraction so you shouldn’t be going for big swings. Stick to stabs and parries.**

Moving my hand I stabbed at her before backing up and baiting another swing. She always aims for my chest so if I can duck I’ll-

**No no no are you slow?! She’s already made it pretty clear she can read your mind so focus and use your Dragon Instincts.**

Ducking as a tree flew over my head Mittelt slashed it out of the air. Rushing forwards I tried to stab her only for her to backstep away, leaving me over extended and falling on my stomach. Fortunately a tendril burst from underneath her wrapping around her arm and burning her with a horrid sizzling noise. 

“Checkmate!” Akihito said. With one final barrage of fireballs she screamed before falling backwards, smoking. Akihito walked forwards, placing a hand over her face.

“What are you doing.” I said. Akihito grinned before Mittelts body was pulled into his, disappearing as he stood up and sighed.

“Alright now that that’s finished let’s talk. As I’m sure you noticed your girlfriend wasn’t human. To be specific she was a Fallen Angel. Fallen are angels who once served god but let themselves be led astray. The reason you were targeted is because you have a sacred gear. Normally it starts as a Dual Critical. But you appear to have skipped that phase and gone straight to a Red Dragon stage. It doubles its owner’s power every 10 seconds and is supposedly powerful enough to kill God or Satan. It’s one of the 13 Longinus. Now let’s go. I need to talk to Rias about this and you need someone to look after you.” Akihito said. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts for a second before calling someone.

“Hey you want a Longinus?” Akihito said. I heard someone choke in the background as someone else screamed something about jumping.

“Chill out. We’re in the park. He awakened a Red Dragon after his girlfriend turned into a Fallen and tried to... murder him. That was fast.” Akihito said. A girl with red hair put her phone back in her pocket before spreading her arms.

“My name is Rias Gremory. As I’m sure you realized Devils and Angels are real. I would like for you to join my peerage.” Rias said. Akihito sighed.

“Normally I would advise doing the exact opposite however the Church nearly killed my dad for his sacred gear and he didn’t have one that could kill God, capital g. But if you’re joining a peerage the Gremory’s are your best bet. They treat their Peerage like family.” Akihito said. Rias nodded.

“We can protect you. If you get strong enough you could even make a peerage of your own.” Rias said. I leapt up and nodded quickly. A busty redhead? Hell yeah I’d love to be her servant. Plus a peerage of my own? I’d love a harem of hot demon girls!

**You can’t truly call yourself a Dragon if you don’t have unending stamina and you can’t call yourself an Emperor if you don’t have a harem of women to tend to your every need. When I was known far and wide as the Red Dragon Emperor I had both obviously.**

“I would recommend making him a pawn. He’s a newbie both in combat and devilhood. We don’t know what his expertise will end up being and risking a Knight or Rook on him is unwise.” Akihito said. Rias nodded.

“Well then let's get back to the clubroom so I can properly induct you into the Gremory Family and a member of my peerage.” Rias said. I nodded as Akihito sighed.

“I have a few things I need to take care of myself so I won’t be there. See ya.” Akihito said.

“Of course. I’m going to set up a meeting with Sona. Don’t do anything stupid.” Rias said.

**Line Break**

Going home and jumping in my bed I groaned. I have no clue where my dad is but this is fine. 

**Congratulations! Season 1 has begun and you have officially passed the tutorial! Title gained: Demon of Kuoh Academy!**

**Demon of Kuoh Academy**

**Due to your threatening Aura and complete lack of social skills you have got the aforementioned nickname. Reputation gain with Chaotic characters and Evil characters increased. Reputation gain with characters labeled ‘Demon’ or ‘Devil’ increased.**

**As you were in the tutorial difficulty was set to ‘Easy’ please choose new difficulty now.**

Looking over the difficulty options there was the obvious Easy, Normal, Hard, and Very Hard but two options stood out to me.

**Shiro’s LaLaLand**

**How easy is too easy? Immediately jump to LvL 100. All Non Mastery Skills gain a Rank. All Skills increase faster. Mastery Skills increased to 250.**

**Kuro’s Nightmare**

**How hard is too hard? LvLs are more difficult to gain. All Skills are more difficult to gain. Life count set to 3 max. Magic now follows science. (Shadow Magic is weaker in Sunlight, Wind magic doesn’t work underwater, etc.)**

Couldn’t you make this decision hard for me? I’ll take the fun option of Kuro’s Nightmare. If I wanted an easy time I’d bum around in Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing.

**Affection with Kuro +10**

**Affection with Shiro -2**

**Ha I win.**

**Oh piss off.**

Don’t you have Benjamin to spy on? A lack of response told me they left. I figured they existed since they were pretty popular if I remember. I wonder if Ried and Akane exist. Akane was cool and her kids were fun in the sequel. Sucks that most of the fun Gamers were on the Evil end of the spectrum. But for now I need to figure out a few things. First off, do I die at Life 1 or Life 0? Can I jump at any time and when I jump can I go between worlds or am I locked in a world until I can jump again? I bet I can sidestep the Life system entirely if I can become a Lich. I could also probably upgrade my body by turning into a Chimera. First things first. Show me my Familiar menu please.

**Team 1:**

**(Leader) Sidhe [Tatl] HP: 1,100 / 1,100 MP: 220,000 / 220,000**

**Bayrok HP: 2,000 / 2,000 MP: 1,000 / 1,000**

**Bayrok HP: 2,000 / 2,000 MP: 1,000 / 1,000**

**Armored Titan HP: 20,000 / 20,000 MP: 40,000 / 40,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 2,000 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 2,000 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 2,000 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 2,000 / 2,000**

**Team 2:**

**(Leader) Sidhe [Tael] HP: 1,100 / 1,100 MP: 220,000 / 220,000**

**Bayrok HP: 2,000 / 2,000 MP: 1,000 / 1,000**

**Bayrok HP: 2,000 / 2,000 MP: 1,000 / 1,000**

**Armored Titan HP: 20,000 / 20,000 MP: 40,000 / 40,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 2,000 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 2,000 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 2,000 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 2,000 / 2,000**

**Team 3:**

**Armor Knight HP: 498 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 492 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 494 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 497 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Team 4:**

**Armor Knight HP: 499 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 497 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 496 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 499 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Team 5:**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Team 6:**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

**Armor Knight HP: 500 / 500 MP: 0 / 2,000**

Oh the Sidhe have actual names. Huh. Wait Tatl and Tael was the name of the fairies in Majora’s Mask right? I barely remember that game since I haven’t played it since early 2010s and I died in 2106. Come one focus, back on track, unless I want to summon a bunch more Sidhe and Bayroks teams 3 to 6 need to be seriously restructured. I barely have any need for those four teams but I bet I could use them to boost my other main teams. Pulling two Armor Knights out of my familiar menu I pushed them together to make them stronger, faster, and hopefully smarter.

**Familiar Fusion LvL 1**

**Smash two of the same together to make something better. A simple premise that many use. Familiars can be fused up to LvL tier. Costs Target HP x Target Tier.**

**New Beast created! Armor Knight I!**

**Armor Knight I**

**An old classic of any fairy tale. They have 1,000 HP and can store up to 2,000 MP. They cannot cast spells and instead use MP for healing. They have a Defense of 300. Vitality: Base x 7.5 Strength: Base x 20 Dexterity: Base x 7.5 Agility: Base x 4 Intelligence: Base x 0.5**

Jumping into the mirror the usual flash blinded me slightly as I was transported to a lighthouse on a beach with the Bayroks firing down into the crowd of Zombies below.

“I didn’t think you’d be here so soon.” Tael said. Shrugging I pulled the other four teams out of my Familiars menu. Walking down into the ground floor of the lighthouse where the Titans where holding a set of double doors closed as the Horde outside tried to break in. Turning to the Armored Knights that were loitering around I Fused the Armored Knights from teams 3 and 4 into the Armored Knights of team 1 and 2 powering them up significantly. If I’m playing on Nightmare I’m not losing because I slacked off on the upgrades.

“Weird. I didn’t get a LvL in Fuse Familiar for that?” I said. Even with Kuro’s Nightmare active surely it can’t be that hard right?

**Fuse Familiar takes a long time to LvL Up and is improved based on MP spent not amount of Familiars Fused.**

That’s fine. Fusing together the Armor Knights from teams 5 and 6 I pulled out enough bodies to make more Armored Titans. As more arrows rained down from above into the crowd outside I quickly made more Armored Titans. I’m gonna be low on MP for a while after this but I need more power on my teams.

**Armored Titan I**

**The Armored Titan series is one of the strongest Beast series. They have 50,000 HP and can store up to 50,000 MP. They cannot cast spells and instead use MP for healing. They have a Defense of 300. Vitality: Base x 30 Strength: Base x 10 Dexterity: Base x 1.5 Agility: Base Intelligence: Base x 0.5**

This is gonna be so expensive to upgrade. I upgraded both of my teams and still nothing. Walking up to the top of the lighthouse I looked over the horde below me. 

“There’s a lot of them. We haven’t even had to move since we got here, they just keep swarming the ground.” Tatl said. I nodded. Looking around there was a tall building a small distance away. I wonder if I could make a teleportation spell or is that like telekinesis where I need a scroll?

**No. You can make a teleportation spell without a scroll.**

Sweet. Surrounding myself with Dark Magic I sort of pushed myself towards the other building. I felt the ground beneath me give away as I began to feel nauseous. Opening my eyes I was on top of the building with Tael waving at me.

**Dark Magic Teleportation LvL 1 / 100**

**No Dark Mage spell collection is truly complete without a cheap bullshit cowardly escape option. Stop running you dick! Teleport (Int x LvL) meters. Costs (10,000 / LvL) MP.**

Everything hurts. Why is it so bad? I didn’t take any damage from it but I feel like I’m gonna throw up.

**You have entered a Toxic Zone.**

**HP -100 per minute. Sick status effect gained. Exhausted debuff gained. MP -500 per second. If you die in the Toxic Zone you will gain the [Toxified] status effect.**

Teleporting back to the lighthouse I felt much better as I looked around the top of the lighthouse. I can help but get a sense of deja vu. It almost reminds me of a shitty zombie game I played twice before returning. Then again it might have been good. It got released in like 2096 when I was basically senile. Looking around the lighthouse I found a control panel for the beacon. I wonder. Turning on the light the zombies at the base of the lighthouse burned or ran as the beacons light washed over the zombies.

**Fuse Familiars LvL Up x1**

**Dark Magic Mastery LvL Up x2**

**Character LvL Up x1**

Dumping the points into Int my MP had been fully restored after that LvL Up. Walking down into the basement the Abominations I had made were lined up neatly. I guess the boost to intelligence did more than I thought. Making more Armor Knights I managed to boost them to tier 2.

**Armor Knight II**

**An old classic of any fairy tale. They have 2,500 HP and can store up to 2,500 MP. They cannot cast spells and instead use MP for healing. They have a Defense of 300. Vitality: Base x 7.5 Strength: Base x 25 Dexterity: Base x 10 Agility: Base x 5 Intelligence: Base**

The Knight looked different. It had a second set of smaller horns behind the front ones and had grown a mouth with sharpened teeth and it’s sword looked similar to the Daedra swords as opposed to the short sword from before. They growled and gave a grin as they stretched. Making 2 Armored Titan Is for the next upgrade I checked my HP and MP.

**HP: 13,400 / 13,400**

**MP: 128 / 246,400**

Wow. I barely have any MP left. Walking up to the top of the warehouse I rolled my shoulders. Meditation allows me to recover 1,038 MP per second. Surrounding myself with Dark Magic I used it to make myself seem less visible. Please let this work.

**Dark Cloak LvL 1 / 100**

**A spell used by thieves to hide themselves and is highly effective. Sneak LvL is increased by (Dark Magic LvL + Dark Cloak LvL). Costs 250 MP per minute.**

I still have a ton of extra MP so let’s try a shield. Surrounding myself in a bubble of Dark Magic and pushing outwards I had a shield similar to the one Astor had in Hyrule Warriors: Calamity.

**Shield: Darkness LvL 1 / 100**

**A Shield made of Dark Magic that stops almost all attacks. Weak to Light. For every 100 HP dealt to the shield you lose (100 - LvL) MP and deal (Int / 1,000) damage. Costs 100 MP to start and costs an additional 100 MP per minute.**

Meditating and casting Dark Cloak and Shield: Darkness at the same time I grinned. Power LvLing time. Sitting down next to the beacon I relaxed as the light continued to circle with the Bayroks occasionally shooting at distant zombies.

**Line Break**

“I thought we had an agreement Rias.” Sona said.

“So did I but clearly you haven’t been telling me about the people in the town. It would have been nice to know about some Fallen Angels nearby.” Rias said.

“Peerage members are a far cry from simple observation.” Sona said.

“You had time. Besides he took eight Pawns. You wouldn’t have been able to turn him anyways.” Rias said. Sona hummed.

“Well I suppose it’s fine then. Of course you won’t be able to get him to the familiar forest to get a familiar until next month.” Sona said.

“That would be your third trip in a row. That wouldn’t be fair would it?” Rias said.

“Maybe, maybe not. We can settle this tomorrow. Does a game of tennis sound good? Tsubaki can be my double and Akeno can be yours.” Sona said. Rias nodded in agreement.

“Of course. Sounds wonderful.” Sona said.

**Line Break**

**Dark Tendril LvL Up x15**

**Dark Cloak LvL Up x33**

**Sneak LvL Up x19**

**Dark Magic Mastery LvL Up x28**

**Shield: Darkness LvL Up x26**

**Meditation LvL Up x15**

“My legs are so cramped up.” I said. I timed it out and one hour in the real world is five hours in here so I spent ten dungeon hours grinding up skills. I teleported to the edge of the Toxic Zone and hid behind a stairwell on a roof while I smacked the Zombies with Dark Tendrils so they would know something was up. I did kill the occasional zombie when it found its way up to the roof but it could never break through the Shield.

“Man that’s gotta suck. Let me guess you spent the entire night try to improve your magic after fighting Mittelt?” Issei said. I nodded.

“Yeah but now I have a Shield and an escape option. I ended up sitting for most of last night and sitting all day for school sucked. Almost threw up the first time I teleported. How was getting reincarnated as a Devil?” I asked. Issei shrugged.

“Kinda hurt but not that bad. Being a Pawn isn’t as awful as I thought it’d be.” Issei said. He perked up and looked in the direction of the Tennis court… on the other side of campus.

“Something is happening. Let’s go.” Issei said. I rolled my eyes and followed him. We walked through the school and popped out on the other side right next to the tennis courts which had a horde of students surrounding it and cheering.

“What’s going on here?” I said. Kiba turned and smiled.

“Oh, Rias and Akeno are facing Sona and Tsubaki in a Tennis match.” Kiba said.

“Not that it matters. The match will end in a tie like always.” Koneko said. 

“Well then. That sounds fun.” I said. Watching as Rias hit the Tennis ball she enchanted it with destruction as she hit it back. Sona hit it, breaking her racket but removing the enchantment leaving Tsubaki clear to hit it back at Rias with Akeno hitting it and breaking her racket.

“Once again the monthly Tennis match between the Occult Research Club and the School Council ends in a tie.” The judge said. Issei sighed.

“Man that was so short. So why do they have these Tennis matches?” Issei said.

“There’s a Full Moon in two days and Rias wants to go into the Forest so you two can get Familiars.” Asia said. I nodded with Issei tilting his head in confusion.

“A what?” Issei said.

“A Familiar. Follow me. Oh hey Akihito.” Rias said. 

“Sup.” I said. Following them Rias and Akeno stepped into the shower. I looked away as Issei drooled over them. 

“Familiars are something every Devil and Magician should have.” Rias said. I nodded, pulling the extra Titans out of my Familiar Menu.

“These are two of my many Familiars. I would grab the others but they’re busy training themselves.” I said. Issei barely even noticed them as he drooled over Rias and Akeno in the shower. Sighing I chopped him over the head as I pulled the Titans back into the Familiars Menu.

“Ow. Sorry. Familiars are important. Got it.” Issei said.

“I have a Sprite Dragon named Rassei. He’s very sweet but doesn’t like men.” Asia said.

“Fortunately we have a plan for when we inevitably tie. We plan dodgeball the next night.” Akeno said. I am suddenly very glad I have a shield, teleport, and several extra limbs to use in conjunction with one another.

“Rias, it seems we still are tied.” Sona said. She had brought her Peerage with her as well.

“So why are we here prez? It’s not like these nobodies are important.” One guy said. 

“And you are?” I said. He began to talk before getting cut off by Tsubaki.

“This is Saji. He is Four of Sona’s Pawns.. And you are?” Tsubaki said.

“Hey, I’m a Pawn too. I guess that means where twins huh?” Issei said. Saji grimaced.

“Are you slow? Did you not hear that I took four pawns? You know each one is exponential right?” Saji said.

“He took eight pawns. Be polite.” Sona said. Saji jumped back and grimaced as Issei turned his nose up at him.

“Akihito Higi. Fleshcrafter and Dark Mage.” I said.

“You’d be welcome to come with us to the Familiar Forest after we win the dodgeball match. So long as you join my peerage.” Sona said. 

“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.” I said. Sona nodded.

“Who do you think you are? You think you’re better than us?” Saji said.

“Your King has already used all of her Bishops and I prefer a more defensive approach so I doubt I would actually get to use its attribute of transforming into something more useful.” I said.

“So? Working for my King is a benefit in itself!” Saji said. I tilted my head.

“Not nearly enough.” I said. Saji glared at me as Sona smiled slightly.

“I apologize for him. He’s recently turned.” Sona said.

“I’d say Pride comes before the fall but he truly is the bottom of the barrel.” I said. Saji went to say something before a glare from Sona cut him off.

“I really am sorry. A familiar is something all Devils should have but you might not get one for a while Hyoudou. Me and Rias have Tennis matches once a month to decide who gets to go into the Forest. When that fails we play a different game. Rias has never won a game of dodgeball since we began.” Sona said.

**Line Break**

“Man that was something else.” Issei said. I nodded. Watching the two Peerages of Devils duke it out was amazing. In the end it came down to Koneko and Tsubaki dodging each other’s dodgeballs with Koneko just barely catching one and winning the game.

“I’d say that was successful.” Rias said. She stood proud with the headband Issei made trailing behind her in nonexistent wind.

“I’m tired just from watching that.” I said. Koneko walked ahead of us.

“I need a shower. I’ll be using my personal one. Stay away, Hyoudou Ecchi.” Koneko said. I snickered as Issei glared at me.

“Well I’ll see you guys tomorrow for the Forest.” I said. Teleporting away back home I stretched. 

**Dark Magic Teleportation LvL Up!**

Nice. I should train that up. If I can get it high enough I’ll be able to teleport around the world for cheap. But for now I need a more concrete plan than maybe Chimera and maybe Lichdom. I should probably drop my Bone attacks. They were nice at first but they rely on physical stats where Dark Magic works on Int.

**Now seems to be a good time to tell you that Rank Up tokens are only able to be received through difficult quests. One example is beating 150 waves of Unlimited Zombie Waves without getting hit or beating New York New York, it’s a Chitauri Dream with no Skills. Or you can sacrifice a Skill and never be able to get it again in exchange for a Rank Up Token.**

So either do something impossible or lose a skill? Easy choice. I’m gonna sacrifice Bouncing Lightning Bolt, Armor Melt, Binding Bones, Mass Bone Shard, and Bone Shard.

**Rank Up Token x5!**

Is there a max Rank?

**Max rank is Rank X.**

Assimilate is currently able to steal Common skills. If I dropped all of my Rank Up Tokens then it would be at Rank VI where I might be able to steal Mythic or even Godly Skills. A place like Lordran would be a feast and give me ridiculously good skills. Imagine being able to make that storm of homing Dark Bolts like Manus could. It was basically instant death for me if I didn’t have the silver charm. Screw it, everything into Assimilate.

**Assimilate LvL 1 / 100 Rank VI**

**A rather complex Fleshcrafting skill. It absorbs a target using their body to improve the caster’s own. Costs 10,000 MP. Costs less if the target is restrained. Costs less if the target is weakened. Costs less if targets MP is empty or they have no MP. Chance to Steal up to Mythic Skills.**

A maniacal laugh ripped its way from my throat as I looked over the upgraded Skill. If I ate something like an Angel I could get something crazy powerful. If I assimilated someone with a Sacred Gear? A grin split my face. I bet I could get anything below a Longinus.

**The Beginning of an Emperor**

**Objective: Assimilate someone with a Sacred Gear**

**Bonus Objective: Assimilate someone with a Balance Break**

I grinned. Jumping into the office inside I hopped on the computer. Please have what I’m looking for. Please oh please.

**Blank Skill Scroll**

**A Skill Scroll that can copy any Skill up to Rank VII. Costs 100,000 credits.**

I won’t be able to buy the Bloodbringer but that’s fine. I bet I could get something like the Gravelord Sword pretty easily. But for now I need a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Issei has a direct line of communication to Ddraig because the Necrotic Aura trait has basically been shining a light in his eye. Almost dying to a child in a maid dress flooded Issei with adrenaline which woke up Ddraig completely. Hence him skipping the Twice Critical stage and jumping straight to Balance Breaker.


End file.
